Back to where it all began

Dr. Aaron Southerland said he always considered a career in dentistry, but it was after observing the dental surgeons and staff at Ardmore’s Southern Oklahoma Center for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Dental Implements during his college years that the Lone Grove native made the decision to pursue dental surgery.

“That’s when I decided what I wanted to do,” Southerland remembers. “To become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon has been the goal ever since.”

That goal is coming true for the 2002 Lone Grove High School graduate. Monday, he began seeing patients at the Southern Oklahoma Center for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Ardmore. He joins dentists Ron Graves and Patrick Wallace at the practice with a location in Ardmore and Durant.

Last month, Southerland completed his residence at OU Medical Center. He graduated from dental school at OU four years prior and completed his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.

During his time in school, he was taught a broad scope of oral and maxillofacial surgeries. Southerland says he specializes in corrective jaw surgery, oral and facial trauma, dental extractions, dental implants and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ) surgery.

“I enjoy giving back to the community,” Southerland says on what he likes about pursuing dental surgery. “I enjoy the surgical aspect of dentistry, the expanded scope of what oral and maxillofacial surgeons are able to do.”

Southerland and his family, his wife Sara and 3-year-old son Zane, have relocated from Edmond to Lone Grove.

He says he is looking forward to working with patients in the Ardmore and Durant areas, as well as working alongside the two dentists who got him interested in the specific field.

“I always considered the possibility of moving back,” Southerland says. “I still have family in Lone Grove, and my in-laws also live around here. I am now close to family and had a good practice opportunity here.”